Electrode



Feb. 21, 1939. R APPL T 2,148,228

ELECTRODE Filed June 2, 1937 Fig. A

IN VENT OR BY R2552?" A. HPP4H72 28, 222/21 wzm' Patented Feb. 21, 1939UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

This invention relates to an electrode, and is a continuation in part ofmy copending application, Serial No. 1,020, filed January 9, 1935, andissued June 8, 1937, as Patent No. 2,083,309.

Heretofore, welds having a satisfactory degree of ductility havenecessitated a heavy coating on the Weld rod that is more or lessfrangible and diflicult to penetrate. Accordingly, it has not beensatisfactory for use with apparatus wherein 10 the electrode is fed froma reel downwardly through the head of a welding machine. The inabilityto maintain a current conducting contact between the contactor andelectrode therefore has necessitated a dust-like covering for the elec-15 trode which is far inferior to the heavy coated rod insofar as theductility of the resulting weld is concerned. Furthermore, there is adisadvantage in winding 2. heavy-coated electrode upon a reel becausethe coating will crack and chip off, whenever the electrode is bent atan angle that wouldbe necessary to encircle a reel of the size that iscustomarily used on welding heads.

An object of my invention, therefore, is to make an electrode which canbe fed through the head of a welding machine, and yet, which possessesthe advantages of a heavy-coated electrode.

An additional object is to make an electrode which may readily be usedas a fillet for joining 7 together two strips of metal and which when soused will produce a weld of satisfactory ductility.

Referring now to the drawing, Fig. l is a diagrammatic view of a weldinghead having an electrode embodying my invention being fed therethrough;Figs. 2 and 3 are sections taken on i the correspondingly numbered linesin Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a section taken through the electrode, showing 'amodified form of construction, and Fig. 5 is a section through anelectrode showing a further modified form of construction.

The electrodes which I propose to use are those which have a relativelyheavy coating that is applied in the form of a sleeve to the el(ctrode,and usually by an extruding process. I am not concerned, in thisapplication, with details of which the covering is made, it beingsufficient to state that any commercial form of heavy covering may beutilized. In general, my invention is practiced by utilizing twohalf-section bars, which are only partially coated and which arebroughtI together along the uncoated faces, with the result that thehalf-sections cooperate to form a complete section that has asubstantially continuous heavy covering at the line of weld. In Fig. 3,two half-sections are indicated at l0 and ll, as having a coatingindicated at I! and I3. The coating extends only along the curvedsurfaces of the sections, and thereby forms a complete envelope for theelectrode when the sections are fed together through a welding machine.

In Fig. l a conventional form of welding head is indicated at 20, ashaving spaced feed rolls 2|, which are driven through suitable gearingby an electric motor. The electrode sections are fed downwardly betweenthe rolls through a guide 23, that is carried by the head directly abovethe rolls, and then through a tube 24, from whence they project in closeproximity to the work 25. One of the half-sections in the arrangementillustrated in Fig. l, is passed between a pressure roll 2'! and acurrent conducting contactor roll 26, While the other electrode H isspaced from the contactor. The two electrode sections are so positioned,with reference to each other, however, that the flat uncoated surfaces28 and 29 are placed in facing and converging relationship, whereforethey are gradually brought together and pressed into current conductingrelationship by the feed rolls 2i.

In the diagram shown in Fig. 1, one lead for the current is indicated at3%, as being electrically connected to the work while the other lead isindicated at 36, as being connected through the head to the contactorroller 26. That portion of the conductor 36 which passes through thehead is insulated from it. In Fig. 4, I have shown a modification of theelectrode construction, in which the flat faces have a tongue and grooveinterconnection, which operates to insure accurate alignment of the twosectionsas they project from the welding head. In such illustration, theelectrode it has a tongue til while the electrode it has a coactinggroove ii. The tongue and groove prevent any possible tendency forlateral misalignment of the electrodes during the welding operation.

The modification of Fig. 5 comprises a half round metallic section 30which is coated on all surfaces as at St and which has a strip 32 oforganic material, such as cotton, or paper attached to the flat surfaceand preferably overhanging the longitudinal edges thereof. This sectionwhen placed adjacent the joint between two strips 33 and 34 to be weldedfills the joint and makes a satisfactory fillet therebetween.

An important advantage 'of the present invention is the fact thatheavily coated weld rods may be fed through the head of a weldingmachine, and that welds of the desired degree of ductility can therebybe readily obtained. Furthermore, the invention is readily adapted foruse with existing welding machines, withoutnecessitating extensivechanges in the construction thereof, and without requiring the coatingto be pierced at any point during the feeding operation.

I claim:

1. An electrode having portions thereof adapted to bear against twopieces of metal that are to be welded and having a strip of organicmaterial attached thereto and extending diagonally of said pieces onwhich the electrode is supported.

2. An electrode comprising a half section of metal that is coated on allfaces thereof and having a strip of organic material attached to one ofthe faces of the electrode.

3. An electrode comprising a strip of metal having a cross-sectionalshape in the form of half of a regular geometrical shape and having astrip of organic material attached thereto, the strip having portionsthereof overhanging the longitudinal edges of the electrode andproviding a support for holding it in welding position upon 10 the workto be welded.

ROBERT R. APPLEGATE.

